Fact Sheet: Ahead of the Conference on Climate Change, More than 200 Colleges and Universities Sign the American Campus Act on Climate Pledge to Demonstrate Support for Strong International Climate Action

With less than two weeks until the President attends the Conference on Climate Change, the Administration is committed to building momentum and ensuring a variety of stakeholders are at the table to act on climate. As part of that effort, the White House today announced that more than 200 university and college campuses signed the American Campuses Act on Climate Pledge to demonstrate their support for strong climate action by world leaders in Paris next month. These schools include historically black colleges and universities, religious institutions, women’s colleges, technical schools, community colleges, all schools in the Ivy League, and a variety of public and private universities located across more than 40 states.

The institutions signing today’s pledge are also already taking significant action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase campus sustainability and resilience, and incorporate environmental action into academic curriculum. More than 100 of the schools that signed the pledge have also set goals to become carbon neutral within the next few decades. In addition, Defend Our Future launched a new climate change campus campaign to empower more than 1 million young Americans to take decisive action on climate change. Along with the launch of the campaign, a bikeshare company based in Santa Monica, California called Cyclehop, has committed to expanding access to smart-bikes on college campuses across the country.

As part of today’s announcement, university presidents, students, and NGOs are participating in a White House Summit with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy and the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s Managing Director Christy Goldfuss to highlight the important work being done to act on climate at universities, voice support for a strong agreement in Paris, and discuss future steps that leaders in higher education can take toward a low-carbon, sustainable future. McCarthy will also participate in a Facebook live event with YouTuber Emily Graslie, the Chief Curiosity Correspondent of The Field Museum in Chicago, and host of the educational YouTube channel The Brain Scoop, to answer questions from students at over 140 campus watch parties across the nation.

The impacts of climate change are already being felt worldwide and President Obama recognizes the importance of collaboration and working across sectors to address the impacts of climate change. More than 150 countries representing around 90% of all global emissions have offered climate pledges and last month, 81 companies from across the American economy signed the American Businesses Act on Climate Pledge to demonstrate their commitment to climate action and show their support for a strong international climate agreement. Today’s actions are a great step forward in highlighting American leadership on climate action and ensuring a successful global agreement on climate change next month.

American Campuses Act on Climate Pledge

Today, 218 campuses representing over 3.3 million students across the country are committing to take action on climate by signing American Campuses on Climate Pledge:

“As institutions of higher education, we applaud the progress already made to promote clean energy and climate action as we seek a comprehensive, ambitious agreement at the upcoming United Nations Climate Negotiations in Paris. We recognize the urgent need to act now to avoid irreversible costs to our global community’s economic prosperity and public health and are optimistic that world leaders will reach an agreement to secure a transition to a low carbon future. Today our school pledges to accelerate the transition to low-carbon energy while enhancing sustainable and resilient practices across our campus.”